Democracy and Political Governance Chapter 3 Chapter 3 Chagossians cases, more than 25 people lived in one room. They remain largely unemployed. After being uprooted from Chagos, they were not trained for other forms of employment to allow them to adapt to the Mauritian economy. Stakeholders pointed out that the money economy is strange to Chagossians and that they could not cope well in the highly monetised Mauritius. Historical background 367. Britain administered Chagos Archipelago as a dependency of Mauritius from 1810 until 1965. In 1965, Britain excised the Chagos Archipelago and, together with other islands under the Seychelles, formed the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). With independence in 1976, the Seychelles recovered the three islands that had formed BIOT. Subsequently, only the Chagos Archipelago constituted BIOT. 368. The government of Mauritius has consistently claimed sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago. Britain reached an agreement with the United States of America (USA) in 1966. The USA could lease Diego Garcia for defence purposes until 2016. Consequently, the United Kingdom began to remove Chagossians from Diego Garcia in order to hand it over to the USA. The USA has had a military base in Diego Garcia since 1971. The USA used it in its war against Afghanistan and Iraq. 369. Chagossians were moved from their homeland to Mauritius and the Seychelles. They lost their personal belongings, livelihoods and sociocultural rights. They were given an ultimatum in 1971 to return to Mauritius, Peros Banhos or Salomon, more than 140 km away from Diego Garcia. Most of them chose the latter two. They were later uprooted from these islands and told to go to Mauritius or the Seychelles. Chagossians report that those who were not in Chagos at the time of the displacement were not allowed to return to Chagos, and that those who were on Chagos were removed against their will. Although Chagossians have dual citizenship, including that of Britain, they are still not allowed access to Chagos. 370. Chagossians received compensation packages of £650,000 in 1978 and £4 million in 1982. About Rs7,590 were given to each islander as compensation in 1982 by the British government to alleviate their plight. It was inadequate to address their needs. Their status in Mauritius 371. 156 The Chagossians arrived in Mauritius when unemployment was high. On arrival in Mauritius, they faced hardships with regard to accommodation, food, employment and other social amenities. There was no specific resettlement plan to cater for their needs. In some Democracy and Political Governance 372. Chagossians have the same legal rights as Mauritians. However, they are severely disadvantaged socioculturally and economically because of their displacement. They are employed mostly in menial jobs as semiskilled or unskilled labourers. This locks them into the lower social circles and standards of living. Chagossian stakeholders reported a high rate of juvenile delinquency, drug abuse and prostitution among the Chagossian youth. Chagossians feel socially isolated, neglected and discriminated against as a social group. While all Mauritians have access to education and health, the Chagossians do not send their children to school, because they lack money for bus transport and school materials. The Chagossian population was estimated at between 2,000 and 2,500 when they arrived. Only about 715 Chagossians are still alive. Most of them are older than 60 and it is feared that this generation may disappear in 10 years. Litigation concerning Chagos 373. The lease of Chagos ends in 2016. However, the American military has made significant investments in the island. This has led to fears that they will not return the island to the Chagossians. There has been a series of court cases over the years regarding the right of Chagossians to return to their land. They have had mixed results. Private Chagossian stakeholders have opened the cases. The Mauritius government, on the other hand, is following diplomatic channels to resolve the matter amicably. iii. Recommendations 374. The APR Panel recommends that Mauritius: • • Adopts the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and passes laws that reflect a rights-based approach in order to promote the rights of disabled people. [Government] Develops appropriate policies and programmes for special needs education to cater for the needs of disabled learners to ensure that disabled people are integrated. [MECHR and civil society] 157